Rescue workers such as firemen, paramedics and police officers, as well as construction workers, military personnel, and the like often find themselves in perilous situations where they themselves require rescue by companions or others. For example, if such an individual is overcome by smoke or fumes, or is otherwise incapacitated or immobilized, the prompt attention and rescue efforts of others is necessary to move the individual to safety and out of harm's way. This commonly involves dragging the individual from the location of danger, but it sometimes also involves hoisting or lowering the individual vertically.
Previously, rescue operations of an individual, particularly when the individual is incapacitated, has required the time-consuming operation of securing the individual with ropes, harnesses, or the like, or the seeking of additional manpower or help. However, the time used for obtaining assistance or actually securing the individual by means of a lifeline or rope is often times so excessive that it defeats the entire rescue operation. Individuals such as those above-mentioned are, by nature of their work, better served and protected by including a safety harness as part and parcel of their safety gear and apparel. Previously known safety harnesses have typically been bulky, cumbersome, or restrictive of the wearer and, accordingly, have not been favorably received by those for whom they are designed. Further, such safety harnesses have not been easily integrated into the wearer's apparel such that, except when actually needed for rescue, the harness is totally concealed and unobtrusive. Previously known safety harnesses and the like of the foregoing nature are shown and described in U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,161,266; 3,973,643; 2,699,284; 4,177,877; 4,545,773; 4,076,101; 4,194,257; and 4,273,216.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,074,074 teaches a hunter's jacket which includes a tow harness having a line or rope extending therefrom with which the wearer may drag game from the woods. The tow line leaves the jacket beneath the wearer's arms and, as such, is unsuitable for a safety harness. Similarly, the tow line is actually stored in a compartment on the back of the jacket, adding bulk, weight, and complexity to the unit as a whole, similarly making it unsuited as a safety device.